Broken
by The Sarcastic Polar Bear
Summary: "No!" Cuddy screamed as she heard the sound of tires skidding. Her blood turned into ice, and mere words could never describe her terror. "Rachel!"
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! I haven't written Huddy in... ages. This is a story I wrote a few months ago, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own House.**

Lisa Cuddy smacked her boyfriend's hand away as he tried to reach into the picnic basket. She slammed the lid shut, catching his finger.

"That's just harsh," House spat, sucking his assaulted finger. "I think you find my pain amusing, which insults me."

"Be insulted, then. You aren't gonna eat all this food before we get to the park."

"But if we wait until we get to the park, all the littler ankle biters will team up and steal it. Kids travel in packs so they can attack the innocent."

Cuddy rolled her eyes and turned down the hall. "Rachel, honey, time to go!" She grabbed a bucket of ice cream from the freezer and placed it in the cooler.

"Can I have some of that?" House asked.

"No."

"Why not? Don't you want me to be happy?" He stuck his bottom lip out and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Having clogged arteries won't make you happy, House." Cuddy picked Rachel up and handed House the basket.

"Rachel, tell your mommy to give me some ice cream," House begged. Rachel's blue eyes lit up with excitement.

"Mommy, ice cream?" she asked. "I want ice cream."

"No, for me, you little demon spawn," House argued, causing her to giggle. He scoffed. "You really are your mother's daughter. You laugh at my misery."

"I spent all day working on this food, and neither one of you are going to touch it yet." Cuddy buckled Rachel into her car seat.

"Then why spend all day cooking if you just want it to sit around and gather ants?" House smirked.

"Icky ants," Rachel added, picking up a baby doll from the seat next to her.

"You heard her. Icky ants." House played with the locks on the door, causing them to click repeatedly in an annoying repetitive rhythm. Cuddy shook her head.

"I swear, I feel like I'm raising two kids."

"I'm happy when I act like a kid. And when I'm happy, Little Greg does a happy dan-" Cuddy cut him off with a glare.

"House, you will not finish that sentence in front of a three year old!" she hissed.

"Fine. Little Greg does a happy dance, and then we have a happy dance in the bed," he whispered under his breath.

"We can do that later." Her answer seemed to satisfy him, for he left the locks alone.

"Are we there yet?"

"Shut up, House."

"Are we there?" Rachel echoed from the backseat.

"Not yet, sweetie."

"Why does she get the 'not yet, sweetie,' when I get told to shut up?" House demanded. "That's age discrimination."

"Call it what you want." Cuddy drove for about ten more minutes before pulling in front of the park. She climbed out of the car and reached into the backseat. "House, can you get Rachel?"

"But she may bite me," he moaned as he balanced her on his hip. She flashed her teeth at him, and he growled at her.

"Grr," she imitated. House made a face as he limped after Cuddy toward a picnic table. Rachel squirmed to get down.

"Rachel, stay in sight," Cuddy warned.

"No!" Rachel shrieked as she ran away at full speed. Cuddy groaned.

"She's starting to act like you," she accused. "She told me this morning she was gonna steal Wilson's wallet and beat Chase."

"Now, why would I do that?" House pulled five dollars out of his pocket. "I'd take the money, not the wallet." He peeked into the basket. "What did you bring me?"

"I made you a Reuben, because I knew you'd whine until you got one. You act like a giant two year old."

"A very sexy two year old," he corrected. Cuddy couldn't help but smirk.

"I can't argue with that, now can I?" She ran her hands down his biceps and kissed him on the lips.

"Help! My girlfriend is molesting me!" he cried, pretending to cry. "So, let me get this straight, I can't talk about what Junior's doing down there, but you can try to bang me in a park?"

"No, I'm just giving you the appetizer before tonight." Cuddy smiled seductively, and House moaned.

"Oh, you kill me, woman! You torture me and Junior so much!" he yelled, grabbing the attention of an older couple passing by. Cuddy blushed as the elderly man and woman stared.

"I'm sorry. He's trying to piss me off," she apologized. The staring couple blinked simultaneously before walking away.

"They walk pretty damn fast to have been born in the BC years, don't you think? Then again, it's not every day you come across a fine hunk of man candy that has a party going on downstairs."

"You always have a party going on downstairs." Cuddy dug through her purse until she found her keys. "You go get the cooler out of the car while I try to find Rachel."

"You, my lady, are a slave driver. You make the poor cripple do everything."

"Would you rather wander through that?" She pointed at the playground. House took the keys from her and limped away.

Cuddy chuckled and made her way toward the slides, where Rachel had been playing two minutes ago. She frowned upon seeing that she wasn't there and turned to face the merry go round. No Rachel.

"Rachel!" she called, turning in a circle. She couldn't see her anywhere. Her maternal instincts took over, and she began to panic. Rachel wasn't near her car, parked less then fifty yards away. Her heart began to pound as she turned the opposite direction and faced the road.

"No!" Cuddy screamed as she heard the sound of tires skidding. Her blood turned into ice, and mere words could never describe her terror. "Rachel!"

The car tried to halt, but it was too late. There was a childlike shriek, followed by a sickening crash that caused her heart to stop.

**I know, I'm a terrible person. I have most of chapter two written, so review, my little ducklings!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi. New chapter! I own nothing that you recognize. I own the doctor in the end of this chapter, so score one for me making my own character who speaks maybe two lines!**

Cuddy stood, frozen in place. She was unable to speak or move. Having heard the commotion, House hobbled as quickly as possible to her.

His eyes followed her gaze, and his heart skipped a beat. He immediately limped toward Rachel's sprawled body. Cuddy, still in shock, was much slower as House knelt beside the toddler. He gently placed his fingers to her neck.

"She has a pulse." His heart continued to pound as he tenderly turned her over. Blood trickled from cuts all over her body, and her right arm and left leg stuck out at unnatural angles, although he was far more concerned about possible brain damage or spinal cord injuries. He gently touched a gash on the side of the little girl's head.

Cuddy choked on a sob as she crouched beside her daughter, gently stroking her cheek as House called for an ambulance, his voice surprisingly soothing.

"They're coming," he said softly. Cuddy didn't speak. "She'll be alright."

"You don't know that," Cuddy whispered, speaking for the first time since the car had struck Rachel. House didn't know what to say. He simply rested his hand on her shoulder and called an ambulance.

The gears in his mind began to turn. He knew that although the vehicle had slowed down tremendously, the impact was far too forceful for the little girl to wake up at any given second and be alright, especially with her being so small and young.

Tears welled up in Cuddy's eyes as the sound of a wailing siren pierced the air. House could see the orange ambulance light flickering in the distance as it drew closer.

"She's going to be alright," he repeated, his voice oddly quiet. "I swear, if she's anything like you, she's gonna survive."

Cuddy looked up at him as the ambulance parked, stunned. House never spoke like this. She blinked. "She may live, House. But how do you know she'll be fine?"

"I don't." House watched as the paramedics gently lifted the unconscious toddler onto a gurney. Cuddy stood up abruptly, jumping into the ambulance with her daughter.

He limped towards Cuddy's silver Lexus and climbed inside, fishing the key she had given him earlier out of his pocket and turning on the ignition. He kept his eye on the ambulance, following it closely. He reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out his cell phone. He pressed the button for Wilson's number.

"Hou-"

"Wilson, get to the emergency room within ten minutes," he barked.

"Why?" Wilson demanded. It was too late. House had thrown the phone into the seat beside him. The brown eyed man cursed under his breath and threw his jacket on, not bothering to button it as he locked his door and sprinted to his Volvo.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, trying to figure out what could have caused the urgency in his best friend's voice. House sounded fine, but the worst of scenarios began to play in his mind. He simply shook his head in wonder and continued to drive. 

MDMDMDMD

PPTH drew closer as the ambulance sped across the street, House just behind in Cuddy's car. The ambulance skidded to a stop, and the gurney was hauled out and rushed beyond the double doors. House found it nearly impossible to keep up with his girlfriend as she hurried after the doctors whisking Rachel away.

"Let me go with her!" she screamed as she was pushed back. House gently grabbed her arms and pulled her away. "House! Let me go right now," she hissed. House practically dragged her to a chair and forced her to sit down.

"Take a breath. You collapsing won't help anything." His voice came out rougher than he intended, and Cuddy's frustration merely grew.

"House, how can I just sit here when Rachel could be back there dying?" she yelled. "I need to do something! I'm a doctor, and I'm her mother!"

"Relax. Getting angry isn't about to change anything." He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her toward the chairs. She refused to sit down.

He knew that her maternal instincts were overpowering her medical knowledge, and he didn't want her to worry too much.

"She's my _daughter_! I have every reason to be angry!"

"Cuddy... Cuddy, calm down!" he shouted.

"How can I calm down when Rachel could die?" she snarled.

"Lisa!" His use of her first name seemed to work, and she visibly settled, collapsing into the chair behind her.

She rested her elbows on her lap and covered her face with her hand, allowing several tears to slip down her cheeks. House sat next to her and hesitated before putting his arm around her shoulders.

Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, Cuddy rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him.

At that moment, Wilson hurried up to them, and stopped dead in his tracks, confused. "Guys... what happened?" Something seemed wrong... "Where's Rachel...?"

House jerked his thumb toward the doors. "Somewhere back there..."

Cuddy was too upset to speak, and a sob caught in her throat.

"We were at the park, and Rachel ran out into the road when a car was speeding."

Wilson's eyes widened. "You mean... she was_ hit_? By a _car_?"

"No, by a flying pig," House retorted. "Yes, a car."

"Drunk driver?"

House shrugged. "No clue." Cuddy finally pulled away from him and sniffled before walking into the bathroom to clean her face.

"Cuddy seems really torn," Wilson said softly.

"Nah, it's her way of showing how happy she is that her daughter was run over." House rolled his eyes. "Of course she seems sad. You know how much she loves her kid." 

Cuddy finally emerged from the bathroom after several minutes and sat down, refusing to look at either of the men. Wilson sat down on House's other side, and the next two hours dragged by. House's leg started to cramp, and he wanted to get up and walk it off, but he wanted to be a supportive boyfriend and be there for Cuddy.

A doctor eventually walked up to them. "I'm Dr. Walter-"

"She should know. She's the Boss, you know," House interrupted. "But her work here is nothing like her work in bed. Not that you'll have a chance. She's mine."

Dr. Walter blinked. "I just wanted to let you know that Rachel is out of surgery."

Cuddy stood up. "And?"

"I'm sorry, but…"

"But what?" Cuddy seethed. Walter flinched.

"There was some trauma to her head. She's in the ICU. I can let you see her soon, but she's in a medically induced coma and has brain damage."

***hides under rock* You can not kill me for this! I DEMAND THAT YOU LET ME LIVE! *is mauled by lions* HEEEEELLLLLLP! *crickets chirp* REVIEW IF YOU WANT THE LIONS TO SPARE ME!**

**Or review, and I won't turn them into my pets! I unleash my pets on those who neglect to review, because I am a violent author with a messed up brain, and an unhealthy obsession with unfortunate painful incidents.**


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